Justin ‘Maddog’ Morris is a professional cyclist with Team Novo Nordisk, and has competed with the Subaru-MarathonMTB.com Team during 2011 and for the 2012 Crocodile Trophy. 2013 has seen him racing around the globe, sneaking time in on his mountain bike when time permits. A big hello from the USA again, after a hectic, nonstop […]
Transalp. The Devil is in the Details
Racing Transalp was a race all the time, not just between the start gun and the finish line. We had a saying, the race isn’t over until you’re in the shower, and it’s fair to say that some of our most gruelling moments came when we tried to find hotels, or negotiate with Italian receptionists, […]
Racing the Tour Divide: Strength in Numbers
Last week, we first heard from Sydney-based rider Arran Pearson, about heading off to Banff to start the Tour Divide, and like the route, the story continues… The rest of the first week is pretty much a blur – I spent the first few days just getting used to the riding and was managing to […]
What it takes to be a successful mountain bike stage racer
You might think that being a successful mountain bike stage racer is all about training and fitness. But while these things can help, if you’ve ever participated in these events before, you’ll know that the real race starts when you cross the finish line each day. Depending on where the event is being held, how […]
Racing the Tour Divide
Well, its been about three weeks or so since finishing the Tour Divide MTB Race, and its probably taken me about that long to process to a point where I can write about it. Since I got back the two most common questions people have asked are ‘How was it?’ and ‘Are you going […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Finishing Iron Bike – sign me up again!
Stage 8 (Final Day): 60km. 2700m ascent. Maximum time limit: 6.5hrs. Time taken: 4hrs 5min Like many other stage races, Iron Bike finishes with a relatively easy day. That is, easy compared to the rest of the week and not just a walk in the park! In the book it was 55km with 3 major climbs and 3 descents. […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Iron Bike Stages 6 and 7
Stage 6: 90km. 4100m ascent. Maximum time limit: 12hrs. Time taken: 7hrs 06min Today I slept through my alarm for the first time, tiredness has reached a new level and writing this at 6pm I feel like crashing out, but with just 2 days left I hope I can keep things together. Despite sleeping at 1000m it was still […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Settling into Iron Bike
Stage 5: 80km, 3500m ascent (not including chairlift). Maximum time limit: 12hrs. Time taken: 7hrs 40min The longer this race goes on, the harder the recovery becomes, especially after a hard stages it can be really difficult to get everything needed done as well as getting enough sleep. I don’t think I would even consider doing Iron Bike without […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Iron Bike stages 3 and 4
Stage 3: 68km, 1270m ascent. Maximum time limit: 13hrs. Time taken: 5hrs 25min Looking at the route map it looked like an easy day, just one climb and a long descent. I know this race better than to expect an easy day and the 11 maximum time limit was a clue that this was not an easy stage. The […]
Matt Page’s Blog: Iron Bike
Iron Bike Prologue & Stage 1 This year the prologue was the same format as last year, an urban crit around the start town of Limone Piemonte. It means very little for the overall, other than handing out the leaders jerseys. Its a great way to get the town involved and held at 8pm when […]